Anti-terrorism water quality monitoring system

ABSTRACT

An Anti-Terrorism water quality monitoring system for continuously monitoring a potable water treatment system and related potable water distribution network that provides potable water to a municipality, city, housing development or other potable water consumer. The system includes the collection of data from the water distribution system and from the water treatment facility and from advanced separation processes which are integrated into analytical instruments. The data collected are stored in a remote database on a remote server computer or bank of computers and accessible by Homeland Security or its designated agency. Preferred parameters of monitoring include the turbidity and disinfectant such as chlorine, hypochlorous acid, sodium hypochlorite, calcium hypochlorite, ozone, chlorine dioxide, chloramines, hydrogen peroxide, peracetic acid.

RELATED APPLICATION

This Application is a continuation-in-part application of Ser. No.10/055,255 filed Oct. 26, 2001 which is a continuation-in-part of Ser.No. 09/213,781 filed Dec. 17, 1998 issued Dec. 18, 2001 as RegistrationNo. 6,332,110, the contents of which are incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention is related to the field of water treatment, and inparticular, to a method of monitoring advanced separation and/or ionexchange processes by use of the world wide web allowing review of datacollected and compiled asynchronously from a web server.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Protection of water supplies from either inadvertent or deliberatecontamination is an increasingly important concern. While there existmany different devices and methods to analyze water for contaminants,widespread deployment of such devices is expensive and difficult.

Most water treatment and distribution systems rely on the introductionand maintenance of a disinfectant into the water system to protectagainst biological and to a big extent chemical contamination. Chlorine,in the form of gas or hypochlorite, is by far the most common materialused for this purpose. However, substitutes such as chloramines, ozone,hydrogen peroxide, peracetic acid, chlorine dioxide, and various mixedoxides also find service in this application. All of these materialshave a more or less common mode of action. They rely on some sort ofoxidation to effect the deactivation of biological organisms and thedestruction of other organic compounds present in the water to betreated. The reaction rates of the various disinfection compounds arereasonably well known and well characterized.

Additionally, the presence or absence of turbidity in the water supplycan greatly affect the amount of disinfectant required to achieveinactivation of biological organisms. The suspended particles producingturbidity are usually removed in the water treatment process beforedisinfection agents are applied. However, turbidity breakthroughs dooccur and failure to quickly raise the disinfection dose level can leadto insufficient disinfection residuals reaching the distribution system.This can present a threat to public health, particularly if the drinkingwater supply is contaminated either deliberately or inadvertently.

To respond to the threats of terrorism in drinking water supplies,sensors have been and are being introduced into the distribution systemto continuously monitor selected contaminants in the drinking watersupply. For example a system may monitor free chlorine residual at alocation in the distribution system downstream of the main treatmentplant. However, the concentration of free chlorine present at this pointin the distribution system may lag the free chlorine analyzed at theexit of the water treatment plant by hours or even days in some cases.The lag will also vary by time of day, since water demand follows wellknown 24 hour cyclical periods.

Applicant's invention registered as U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,110 teaches theuse of a remote monitoring system to monitor the performance of anadvanced separation process, particularly as related to water treatment.Many of the analytical devices used to continuously monitor watertreatment operations are based on advanced separation processesemploying selective ion membranes which concentrate the analyte for thedetector apparatus. For example, detection of chlorine may be mediatedvia a membrane which readily and specifically passes free chlorine orhypochlorous acid (HOCl), thus separating the analyte from the bulksolution and concentrating it. The detector apparatus may incorporatemultiple sensors and analyzers on a single unit. The multiple units areusually electronically controlled. The control system usually featuresoutput methods allowing the display and storage of collected data.

Deploying a range of sensor systems in the field provides a means toanalyze for contaminants but does not provide for reporting andsubsequent analysis of the data. Rapid reporting of the data to afacility readily accessible by the management or operators of theutility or distribution system and subsequent analysis of the data isvery important to providing quick response in the event of a systemcontamination, either deliberate or otherwise.

The instant invention provides a means of rapidly aggregating theinformation at a central location in a form readily accessible toauthorized users such as Homeland Security. It further provides a meansto employ sophisticated statistical and data analysis techniques to thecollected data. Since the central data collection server is connected tothe internet, dispersion of alarms and alerts is greatly facilitated.

This invention consists of a method for collecting analytical data fromthe electronic control system of a single analyzer unit or multipleanalyte units, storing the raw data locally for a short period of time,and subsequently using any of a variety of transmission means to sendthis data to a remote internet server computer. At the remote internetserver computer, the data is stored in a database and may also bedisplayed via a web server. Upon arrival, or upon scheduled intervals,or upon a user request, the data is analyzed, compared to historicalrecords, and a performance analysis result is made. Based upon the rawdata or upon the analysis result, reports can be issued to appropriateregulatory agencies, alerts or alarms can be raised, and notificationsissued via email, pager, voice or text messaging, or other messagingmedium which can be mediated by a computer program connected to a phoneline or the internet.

The methods used for data analysis can be readily varied or modified bysomeone skilled in the art of computer programming since the raw data iseasily available from the database for manipulation. For example, theanalytical data, when combined with known system constants such as flowrates, residence times, and so on, can be used to continuously generatea calculated product of disinfectant concentration times contact timeC*T. This simple factor alone is quite useful in predicting the amountof biological organism deactivation. More sophisticated analyses canalso be utilized. The results can be conveniently stored in the databaseand displayed as virtual sensors.

This invention is particularly useful when the same remote servercomputer has access to data from both the treatment facility and toanalytical data from within the distribution system. In this case,historical information can be used to predict the expected conditionswithin the distribution system based on the effluent conditions from thetreatment plant. The expected conditions can then be compared to theactual conditions in the distribution system. For example, in theinstant invention, assume that data is being collected at the watertreatment plant from the electronic control system about water flowrates, chemical dosing rates, filtered water turbidity, and chlorineresidual. Also assume that data is also being collected from sensors inthe distribution system reporting chlorine residual among other data.With current data and with historical data as a reference point, one cancalculate a chlorine demand from the chemical dose rates, flows, andresidual. Chlorine Demand is the actual amount of chlorine which isreacting, typically calculated as free chlorine dosed less the residual.Chlorine demand can be correlated with temperature, season, and filteredwater turbidity. Additionally residual chlorine leaving the plant can hecorrelated with residual chlorine within the distribution system. If theactual chlorine residual measured at the distribution system point ofmeasurement varies from the historical values expected from the chlorineresidual leaving the treatment facility by more than a set percentage ormore than a set number of standard deviations, then an alarm or alertmay be issued by the monitoring system of the instant invention.

As a further example, consider the potential deliberate injection ofchemically or biologically active agents into the distribution system ata point downstream of the treatment facility. A sophisticated terroristmay first inject a chlorine scavenger such as sodium metabisulfite intothe distribution system to eliminate the chlorine residual normallypresent. At some point downstream of the metabisulfite injection point,the chemical or biological agent can be injected into the water withoutdestruction by any residual disinfectant. Without an analytical stationand monitoring system in place within the distribution system thisapproach could go undetected for quite some time, allowing a thoroughinfiltration of a biological or chemical agent throughout thedistribution system. Assuming such an attack, the chlorine residual atthe monitoring station would very quickly diminish to zero. A monitoringsystem with an active system in place to analyze the incoming data wouldquickly detect such an attack and sound the alarm. With historical datato compare to, the incidence of false terrorist attack alarms could begreatly diminished. For example a chlorine dosing equipment failurewould be noticed at the water treatment plant providing information thata subsequent fall of chlorine concentration in the distribution systemwas not a terrorist attack, but an equipment failure.

In the same example of a hypothetical terrorist attack, the terroristmight try to simply overwhelm the residual chlorine in the distributionsystem by injecting, for example, an amount of biological or chemicalagent dispersed as a fine powder in water. In this case, chlorine wouldfall as well but depending on the location of the sensors in relation tothe injection point, the concentration might not fall to zero. However,the turbidity might well be affected. Thus a turbidity sensor in thedistribution system would be an advantage in assessing a potentialthreat. In all cases, the need to quickly transmit raw data from boththe distribution system and treatment plant to a computer system whereit can be manipulated and analyzed is very important for prompt actionto occur in response to any threat to the water system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The instant invention is a method for continuously monitoring a watertreatment system and related distribution network providing potablewater to a municipality, city, housing development or other potablewater consumer. The method includes the collection of data from thedistribution system and in the preferred embodiment from the watertreatment facility as well. The method also includes the collection ofdata from advanced separation processes which are integrated intoanalytical instruments. The data collected are stored in a remotedatabase on a remote server computer or bank of computers.

The data are manipulated to generate preconfigured performance,maintenance, quality assurance, quality control, regulatory, performancegraphing, historical trends, and regulatory reports. The data iscollected from sensors located at an equipment site and transferred to aremotely located computer using transmission means by use of theInternet where all data received can be used for the generation ofreports which are accessible by Internet connection. The reports, graphsand information can be viewed online or downloaded by use of a webbrowser. Regulatory reports can be forwarded automatically to theregulatory agency via electronic transmission means with the addedbenefit of receiving reports generated directly from the sensor inputthereby eliminated the possibility of human error or tampering. Themethod allows a single location to monitor countless customers with eachcustomer capable of reviewing information relevant to their equipment.All information is kept confidential by use of appropriate accountnames, protocols and passwords.

Thus, an objective of the invention of utmost importance for securityconcerns is to use the data manipulation steps to continuously comparethe current water treatment facility data with current data obtainedfrom the distribution system to each other and to historical records ofperformance already stored in the database. As will be readilyappreciated by those skilled in the art of data analysis, this canprovide a powerful indicator of either normal response in thedistribution system or out of bounds conditions that may requireimmediate notification of responsible parties preferrably by directcontact with Homeland Security.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a means for analyticaldevices using advanced separation processes such as ion selectivemembranes or electrodialysis membranes to rapidly and securely transmittheir data to a remote database server computer for data manipulationand display on the World Wide Web.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a facile means toevaluate the conditions in the water treatment distribution systems asto health and safety concerns and allow this information to be shared byresponsible parties via the World Wide Web.

Yet another feature and objective of the invention is to provide a meansof remote monitoring advanced separation processes, water, andwastewater treatment plants in a manner that prevents any possiblehacker attack to the electronic control system of the plant or processbeing monitored. The use of a remote database and web server allowsviewers near real time access to plant performance but only allowsaccess to web pages, not the control system. In more conventional remotemonitoring applications, users or viewers need to actually connect withthe computer or electronic control system which is actually controllingthe plant. Thus, compromised passwords could result in an unauthorizeduser seizing control of the control system. In the instant invention,the control system need not be configured for remote access at all. Inthe instant invention, a compromised password will merely allow a remoteuser to see data from the process but not control any part of process,nor actually make any connection to the electronic control system of thefacility, or computer attached to the electronic control system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a conventional water treatment facility anddistribution system with the interfaced anti-terrorism qualitymonitoring system of the instant invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1, which shows a typical water treatment facility anddistribution system, water from the supply (1) is pumped to thetreatment plant. Analyzer A1 (2) and flow meter (3) collect data on theraw water supply. Analyzer A1, analyzing for turbidity, temperature, andpossibly TOC (Total Organic Carbon) are not strictly necessary but ifpresent provide better predictive reliability.

Treatment step (13) typically consists of settling and filtration toremove suspend matter. Analyzer A2 (14) monitors the efficiency of thetreatment step. Disinfection step (4) allows chlorine dosed from thechlorine dosing station (5) to contact the water for a period of time,variable depending on temperature and organic matter loading in thesupply water. Analyzer A3 (G) verifies that the disinfection step isworking by measuring chlorine residual before entering the distributionsystem (7).

Analyzers A4, A5, and A6 (8) analyze for chlorine residual in thedistribution system. Multifunction analyzers, the so called ab on a chipcould also be used in the distribution system to analyze forconstituents in addition to chlorine.

Data from the water treatment system is typically collected by a SCADAor other electronic control system (11) allowing local operators tooperate and control the plant. Analyzers in the distribution system canbe fitted to either send data to the treatment plant SCADA system or tothe remote Database and Web Servers (10) of the instant invention. Datasending can be via transmission methods to the internet thensubsequently via the internet to said remote database and web servers.

At the said remote database and web servers, the data is manipulated,reported, and displayed for various authorized viewers and users (16).If the data manipulation indicates that alarms or alerts are warranted,the software in the database can send the appropriate notices (15).

As can be readily appreciated there are many different permutations andcombinations of the above system which will be obvious to someoneskilled in the art of water treatment and in the art of remotemonitoring. No matter the permutations, key features of the instantinvention remain the same. For example, the distribution system mayincorporate various additional pumping stations or head tanks (17).Similarly, the transmission methods used by the instruments andanalyzers in the water treatment system and in the water distributionsystem used to send data to either the remote database and web serversor to the SCADA system at the treatment facility can vary. For example,cellular phones can be used to dial either local or central internetservices providers. Radios, or so called remote terminal units (RTU)coupled to radio frequency transmitters, can also be used to sendtransfer the collected data to SCADA system or can send it directly tothe said remote database.

1-32. (canceled)
 33. A system for real-time web-based monitoring ofwater utilities, the system comprising: a web-based data managementdevice configured to: obtain periodically from one or more remotesources data based on water quality sensor readings; compile the datainto a database; update the compiled data based on new data from the oneor more remote sources; analyze the compiled data to determine whether apredetermined alarm condition exists and whether the alarm conditionsatisfies a predefined requirement to obtain an analysis result; formatthe analysis result for a color coded graphical display, such that anindividual having been authorized to access the web-based managementdevice can assess a current state of the system performance based on thedisplay; generate a customized report based on the analyzed data; sendthe analysis result to a user interface device for display; continuouslyupdate the analysis result based on the updated compiled data; andprovide information relating to the analysis result to authorizedindividuals.
 34. The system of claim 33, wherein the graphical displayindicates normal system operation, warning status, and alarm conditions.35. The system of claim 33, further comprising sending the customizedreport to pre-selected recipients if the alarm condition satisfies thepredefined requirement.
 36. The system of claim 33, wherein thecustomized report includes a regulatory compliance report.
 37. Thesystem of claim 33, wherein the customized report includes an exceptionreport indicating instances where conditions were close to triggering analarm.
 38. The system of claim 33, wherein the information includes analarm signal.
 39. The system of claim 33, wherein the customized reportincludes a work order with predefined inspection checklist.
 40. Thesystem of claim 33, wherein the customized report includes a summary ofwork order and maintenance schedule.
 41. The system of claim 33, whereinthe customized report includes a regulatory compliance report.
 42. Thesystem of claim 33, wherein the customized report includes a trendmodeling report when conditions appear likely to exceed normal alarmconditions.
 43. The system of claim 33, wherein the customized reportincludes a financial oversight report.
 44. The system of claim 33,wherein the data management device is further configured to display thehistorical data in a geographical form.
 45. The system of claim 33,wherein the providing of the information includes automatically sendingthe information to the authorized individuals using multimedia messagingincluding e-mail, pager, or facsimile.
 46. The system of claim 33,wherein the data management device is further configured to displayhistorical data concerning the water management system.
 47. The systemof claim 33, wherein the data management device is further configured todisplay historical data in a geographical form.